Method of producing heat and sound insulation



Judi? 1953 A. E. GESSLER ETAL 2,

METHOD OF PRODUCING HEAT AND scum: INSULATION Filed Feb. 25, 1948 34Ficgi' a 34 Insulating Acetme Paper Board Sheet Stock Apply AdhesiveFig.5;

, INVENTORS g g g zg ALBERT E. GESSLER Insulating Boqrd WILLIAM F" GRUHECLlFFORD .1. ROLLE FRANCIS J. TUTTLE ATTORNEY Patented July 31, 1951METHOD or PRODUCING HEAT INSULATION Albert E. Gessler, Scarsdale, N. Y.,W

Grupe, Rutherford, N. J.,

ANDSOUND illiam F. Clifford J; Rolle,

Tuckahoc, N. Y., and Francis J. Tuttle, Somervllle, N. J., assignors toIntel-chemical Corporation, New Yor N. Y., a corporation of OhioApplication February 25, 1948, Serial No. 10,894,

2 Claims. (01. 154-410) This invention relates to materials useful insound and heat insulation and the process of making them. The materialsare applicable to structures of various sorts, particularly movingvehicles such as automobiles and airplanes, and

it aims to provide a sound and heat insulating unit characterized byoptimum insulating value combined with ease of installation and surfacecharacteristics, which include pleasing appearfibers. These materialsabsorb both heat and sound; but they. present surfaces which attractdirt, and cannot be cleaned readily. Hence, they are generally coveredin practice with some decorative material. Where noise elimination isdeshed in addition to heat insulation, this decora-' tion has alwayssharply reduced the sound deadening effect of the fibrous insulatingmaterial.

Two general expedientsfhave been adopted do provide for decorationwithout too great aims of sound deadening. One has been to cover arelatively loose fibrous insulation with a woven fabric, which may be ofrelatively open structure,

or may even have holes cut in the fabric. This expedient has thedrawbacks that the fabric, while less difficult to clean than thebacking, must be removed to effectively clean it; the decorative effectsare somewhat limited; and the unit resulting from the combination hasnot structural strength. The other expedient is the familiar bagasseboard with holes punched down face which at the same time impartsstructural strength to the unit. Our unit comprises a relatively thickbacking (measured in inches), consisting of a loosefibrous mass of suchconstruction that at least 65% of its volume is air, having laminated toits to-be-exposed surface a relatively thin pellicle or foil (measuredin thousandths of an inch) of water-resistant organic plastic such as acellulose derivative or synthetic resin. Most preferably, the foil istransparent, and'is decorated before lamination on the side attached tothe backing. The foil has-openings therein to the backing comprisingfrom about 5% to 20% of the total surface area.

The construction shown in the drawings illustrates our invention:

Fig.1 is a top view of a section of the insulating unit.

Figs. 2 to 4 above enlarged sections of three;

different modifications of our invention.

Fig. 5 is a flow-sheet showing the process of our invention.

In order to get the type of styling effect necessary in automobile bodyconstruction, the msulating roof must be decorated. The present clothlinings offer a severe limitation to the interior styling. Our lining isfaced with a decorated foil of material such as cellulose acetate,cellulose aceto-butyrate, ethyl cellulose, polyvinylchloride-acetatecopolymer, or any other resilient water-resistant foil material. Thefoil is preferably transparent or translucent, and car-' ries thedecoration on the side thereof laminated to the backing. This providesa'surface which is resistant to water, soiling, scufiing and wear.

Where a relatively dense board is to be used, we'prefer the structureshown in Fig. 2.' The base board 3| has unitedto it a transparent sheet32 of cellulose-acetate or the like transparent hyinto the board,withthe top surface painted; such units have structural strength, and can becleaned, but are rather expensive, have relatively less sound-absorbingefiiciency than the loose fibrous materials, and tend to plug up whenrepainted,

. due to the fact that the holes must be of small diameter if a washabledecoration is to be obtained.

We have produced an effective sound and heat insulating unit,characterized by having sound and heat insulating characteristicsapproaching those of undecorated, relatively loose, fibrous masses,combined with a decorated washable surdrophobic foil, carrying on theboard side a decoration which may be an overall coating 33 or a print34, backed up by such an overall coating.

This is laminated to the base board. and holes 35 are drilled throughthe board, preferably at regularly spaced intervals, and to occupyaconsiderable percentage of the surface area, in accordance with knownpractice in the sound-treatmay carry any ment of buildings. Such a board7 type of design, which is protected against wear bythe foil. Whenmounted in the car, the sound waves will travel through the holes intothe v porous board and the air space above it, and will resound in thesespaces until: absorbed.

. Where a more porous board is used, we prefer the structure shown inFig. 3. Here a hole 35! is drilled through the outside sheet and halfwayascanu the outer layer of foil may be laminated to a board, or may be aseparate laminated structure sufficiently rigid to support the rockwool. A typical construction may be prepared as follows:

A five mil cellulose acetate sheet, matte surfaced on one side, isdecorated on theciear or under side, by printing with suitable lacquerinks. Over the printed design there is usually coated a solid base orbackground color, also of a lacquer-type material. Against thislacquered coat there is now laminated a high bulk, 70 lb. paper stock.The cement used for this operation is a lacquer-type thermoplastic film,which can be applied either by spray or coating, the greater portion ofthe solvent evaporated, and the paper applied thereto by heated rolls.

This decorated, laminated product is now ready to be cemented to, andmolded with, a backing of 'Celotex board, preferably to in thickness.This is carried out simultaneouslv as follows: The Celotex board isfirst humidified in a suitable moisture cabinet in order to bring it toa pliable condition. A ureaformaldehyde water syrup adhesive, such as iscommonly used in the production of plywood, is coated on to both theCelotex and the paper side of the laminated sheet. The two are broughttogether, allowing an overlap of the sheet, which can be clamped at thetwo ends of the mold, preparatory to forming. The mold is heated toapproximately 270 F. and applied with sufficient pressure to deform thesheet and the "Celotex board to conform to the shape of the mold. Thepurpose of the elevated temperature of the mold is twofold. First, towarm the acetate sheet suiliciently to permit the flow or formation tothe desired shape. Secondly, to convert or kick over the urea cement toform a permanent moisture-resistant bond between the foil and the"Celotex" board. The mold is now rapidly chilled by circulating acooling medium through the mold structure. The mold can then be openedand the finished product, which is now permanently molded, removed.

In place of the Celotex" board,cited in the above example, we have alsofound it practical to use "Fiberlite" board, made of wood fibers, ofexcelsiorlike formation, loosely bonded, with high insulating-values forboth acoustics and heat. In placu where the desired shape requires thehighest degree of moldability, not within practical range of the harderboards, we have used a backing, formed of moldable layers of two-waystretch creped paper in place of the "'Fiberlite."

In order to give any of these products the maximum acoustical dampingeffect, it is desirabh to have holes through the acetate sheet to permitthe sound waves to enter and to be abmrbed in the mass of the backingmaterial. Where the mass of. this backing material is eunparativelydense, as in Celotex," the holes should be drilled well into, or throughthe entire body of theboard in order to permit the sound waves to enterthe pores of the backing material throughout its entire thickness asshown in Figs.

4and5. Inthecaseofthehighiyporous Fiberlitef it is suilieient that theholes merely penetrate the laminated sheet as shown in Pi 4. since theywill then be readily absorbed into the backing material.

In all of the above cases cited, the insulating backing material isrigid enough in its molded form to be mounted in the car with endsupports o We have a second type of insulating material,

such as rock wool batts, which is not rigid or selfsupporting across thearc of the top of the car. In this case it is necessary to supplysufficient rigidity in the decorated sheet, which is not obtained withthe single paper backing above described. In this case, to obtain asemi-rigid molded structure, it is necessary to add back laminating.material, consisting of a multiple number of paper sheets, cardboard,strawboard, felt, linoleum base, impregnated cloth, etc., usuallyresulting in a mass about thick. The above backing materials maybeimpregnated with converting resins. which are set in the moldingoperation to obtain still greater rigidity. This material, in itself, isnot sufficiently rigid to be supported on the edges only, but must havesome additional support from the ceiling beams at the Joints or seamswhere the sections meet, the car being lined with a number of moldedpanels. These sheets, after lamination, are perforated to permit thesound waves to pass through. After molding, there is applied thereto aninsulating material, such as a batt or pad of rock wool, which will fillall, or practically all, the space between the molded material and theceiling of the car, thus aiding in damping the vibration of the top.

Obviously, many modifications can be made-in our invention withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof, as defined in the claims.-

For so much as is common to this application and our Patent No.2,455,926, issued December 14,- 1948, we claim the benefit of priorityof that patent.

We claim:

1. The method which comprises providing a relatively thick board havinginherently heat and sound absorbent quantities and being susceptible tosoftening by moisture, in a humidified and softened condition, applyingto one surface each of the board and of a sheet of water-resistant.flexible foil, an adhesive, simultaneously cementing the board and thefoil and molding the assembly to the desired shape and thereafterdrilling holes at least through the foil to the board. 2. In a method ofproviding a pro-shaped heat and sound absorbent board with a waterresistant foil surface, the method which comprises providing arelatively thick board having heat and sound absorbent qualities andbeing susceptible to softening by moisture. in a humidified and softenedcondition, applying to at least one surface of the board and a sheet ofwater-resistent, flexible foil to be joined, a thermosetting adhesive,simultaneously cementing the board and the foil and molding the assemblyto the desired shape by means of heat and pressure and thereafterdrilling holes at'least through the foil to the board.

ALBERT E. GESSLER. WILLIAM F. GRUPE. CLIFFORD J. ROLLE. FRANCIS J.TU'I'IL-E.

(References on followin age) 5 REFERENCES CITED Number The followingreferences are of record in the 'g file of this patent: UNITED s'm'msPATENTS 2:129:929 Number Name Date 2,150,658 675,146 Watson May 28, 19012,276,567 973,888 Stillman Oct. 25, 1910 2,311,156 1,074,829 Bird et a1.Oct. 7, 1913 2,326,763 1,554,179 Trader Sept. 15, 1925 10 2,455,926

Merritt Oct. 30, 1934 6 Name Date Kautmann Sept. 3, 1935 Arnold Jan. 21,v 1936 Reese Mar. 31,1936 Gurwlck Sept. 13, 1938 Osgood Mar. 14, 1939Donaldson Mar. 17, 1942 Caste Feb. 16, 1943 Crandell Aug. 17, 1943Gessler et a1. Dec. 14, 1948

1. THE METHOD WHICH COMPRISES PROVIDING A RELATIVELY THICK BOARD HAVINGINHERENTLY HEAT AND SOUND ABSORBENT QUANTITIES AND BEING SUSCEPTIBLE TOSOFTENING BY MOISTURE, IN A HUMIDIFIED AND SOFTENED CONDITIONS, APPLYINGTO ONE SURFACE EACH OF THE BOARD AND OF A SHEET OF WATER-RESISTANT,FLEXIBLE FOIL, AN ADHESIVE, SIMULTANEOUSLY CEMENTING THE BOARD AND THEFOIL AND MOLDING THE ASSEMBLY TO THE DESIRED SHAPE AND THEREAFTERDRILLING HOLES AT LEAST THROUGH THE FOIL TO THE BOARD.